Heretofore various types of temporary, collapsible or knock-down signs and sign holders have been suggested for use in advertising, road construction or the like that are intended to provide ease in assembly and disassembly or intended for use on a temporary basis. Examples of such prior art devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,429,211 to Lightburn, 2,814,140 to Ellis, 2,872,750 to Holcomb, 3,469,335 to Leigh and 3,616,557 to Vara. However, such prior art devices while suitable in some respects have not always been as economical in the construction or stable in use as one might desire. Additionally, such devices were not always as convenient to store, assembly, erect, disassemble and transport as is sometimes necessary or desirable. This is particularly true in certain temporary sign applications wherein sign installation and removal is intended to be performed by a person not equipped for, or skilled in the art of sign erection, as for temporary signs for political campaigns or for temporary real estate applications. In real estate, for example, a real estate agent of either sex, dressed in normally restricted business clothes, without tools, is expected to store in the trunk of his or her passenger automobile, a number of such signs such as "House For Sale", "Sold", directions to a property location, and the like. In such circumstances, it is desirable that such signs and sign holders be light, compact and easy to store and transport, preferably with interchangeable parts to minimize storage requirements. Additionally, it is important that such signs and sign holders be non-complicated and convenient for anyone to assemble and disassemble without tools and without precise relative placement of the elements thereof. It is likewise important that such signs be erectible and removable from a temporary erection site without expenditure of substantial physical effort, without substantial physical dexterity and without significant physical disturbance to the site environment.
The present sign holder invention overcomes the disadvantages and shortcomings associated with the known prior art sign holders and teaches a particularly simple sign holder comprising a weather resistant vertical panel formed of spaced front and rear panel members, one or both of which being adapted to receive indicia thereon for display purposes, and a plurality of vertically spaced, transversely extending web members connected between the front and rear panel members. The plurality of vertically spaced web members together with adjacent surfaces of said front and rear panel members define a plurality of vertically spaced, transversely extending channels. To support the vertical panel on a supporting surface, a pair of vertical support rods are provided, one of said support rods being positioned on each transverse side of the vertical panel. To suspend the panel from the support rods, a pair of elongated slip pins are provided, each pin having an outer end removably connected, as by a bolt and wing-nut to one of said vertical support rods and an inner free end slidably and removably received to a greater or lesser extent in a selected one of the channels of the vertical panel board.
To erect a sign in an outdoor environment utilizing a sign holder according to the present invention, it is merely necessary to insert the support rods into a supporting surface such as a lawn. Because the rods are relatively slender, little physical force is required and little noticeable disturbance to the lawn is caused by erection or removal. The rods are spaced apart a distance at least as great as the width of whatever size sign panel board is to be erected but this distance need not be precise because of Applicant's inventive slip pin connector concept. In this regard, the positioning of the sign panel board right or left or up or down relative to each of the support rods need not be precise for the same reason. The slip pins are merely slidably received to a greater or lesser extent in an appropriate one, up or down, of the tranversely extending channels in the panel of the present invention and the outer ends of the slip pins connected to the support rods. Any requirement for exact positioning of the support rods relative to each other or the panel relative to each support rod is avoided, thereby simplifying erection procedure to a substantial extent and providing a degree of flexibility and interchangeability of parts not heretofore available.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sign holder which is easy to assembly and erect without requiring precise relative positioning of the elements thereof.
It is another object of this invention to provide a sign holder that is simple and convenient to assemble, erect and disassemble without tools and without the use of substantial physical force or dexterity.
It is another object of this invention to provide a sign holder that is neat in appearance and economical in construction.
It is still further an object of this invention to provide a sign and sign holder which is lightweight, compact and easy to store and transport.
It is another object of this invention to provide a sign and sign holder permitting variable distances between the vertical support elements of the sign holder and variable distances between each of the vertical support elements and the sign panel.
It is another object of this invention to provide a sign holder including vertical support elements and slip pin connector elements adapted for use with a plurality of different size sign panel of various lengths and widths.
It is another object of this invention to provide a sign and sign holder that is adapted for use outdoors, is stable in the wind and resistant to weather damage.
It is another object of this invention to provide a sign holder for outdoor use that may be erected and removed without noticeable disturbance of the erection site.
It is another object of this invention to provide a sign holder design that may be used alternately indoors or outdoors and with large signs or small ones.
Another object is to provide a sign holder that can have a message on both opposite sides.
Another object is to provide a sign panel of simple corrugated construction.
Another object is to provide a sign panel that is hingedly supported so that it may swing in the wind to a position so that minimum wind force is applied thereto.
Another object is to increase the visibility of signs by making them visible from both directions.
Another object is to make it possible to support sign panels in vertical orientation even on uneven ground.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after considering the following detailed specification of one embodiment of the subject invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: